I’ve lost track of all of the addresses I’ve called home in life, but one thing I know for sure is that every one of them ended in MI. My homegrown affection and pride for Michigan comes through in my weekly conversations with you. But something hits different when the appreciation comes from someone relatively new to the state. And you can see that in full bloom in MLive’s newest podcast series, “Yes Michigan.” Fresh fascination is baked into each episode because lead podcast producer Patrick Shea comes to the assignment as a relative newcomer. He was born in Illinois, went to college in northern Wisconsin and did postgraduate work in Montana. Shea’s college, Ashland, was near Lake Superior, so he got a taste of the Great Lakes State then. But he was formally inducted when he went to work four years ago for Michigan Public Radio in Interlochen. Yes Michigan is described as “an audio postcard from Michigan” by Shea. “I’ve been all over the state now and I’m pretty much convinced it’s the best state in the country,” Shea said. “Even though I wasn’t born here, I am genuine in my claims of pride.” The name of the podcast is integral to its creation story. Shea said he and his boss, Gillian Van Stratt, had been casting about for new podcast ideas highlighting the things that make Michigan great. Van Stratt is MLive’s director of audience. One morning, in a team chat about that day’s stories from around the state, Van Stratt made the comment “Yes Michigan – the feeling’s forever.” That’s a hook line from an advertising jingle from a 1980s tourism campaign. “People closer to my age said, ‘What's that?’” Shea said, “She posted a link to the song. I heard it and thought, ‘OK, honestly, a jingle has no business being this good.’” Shea was intrigued and, like any good reporter, wanted to know more. What ensued – and is documented in the first episode “Yes Michigan! The Feeling’s Forever” – is part detective story, part show biz. And one heck of a fascinating listen. Since that debut, Shea has produced podcasts on pirates who plied the Great Lakes during the heyday of lumbering in the late 1800s and another on the legend of an Up North cryptid dubbed the Michigan Dogman. Episodes of the podcast have an “around-the-campfire storytelling” feel, complete with sound effects to underscore the narrative. “If I want to create a scene, I just wait for the right night,” said Shea, who lives in the eastern Upper Peninsula. “For weeks, I'd hear owls or a coyote, and I’d jump outside to get it. I’ll think, ‘This is a good night to hold a microphone up to a campfire.’” The episodes are far more than production aesthetics. He tracks down authoritative sources for each story and weaves them into a compelling narrative. Listeners are educated as much as entertained.
“I hope that people who are familiar with the topics of these stories already maybe feel a sense of pride for it, like, ‘Wow – he went to Luther, Michigan. That’s my town!’ Or maybe you learn some things to be proud of Michigan for.” Up next are pieces on the Edmund Fitzgerald shipwreck and the man who has swam across all five Great Lakes. And he welcomes your tips and suggestions on topics to explore. What makes a good topic? “What's a story you wouldn't hear in a different state, that’s a little bit unique to Michigan?” Shea said. “The more Michigan, the better candidate it is for an episode.”
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